1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automated slide loader cassette for a microscope.
2. The Prior Art
Devices for loading slides from a cassette onto a stage of a microscope are known, as follows.
U.S. Pat. No.PatenteeIssue Date3,738,730Binnings et alJun. 12, 19733,851,972Smith et alDec. 3, 19744,248,498GeorgesFeb. 3, 19814,367,915GeorgesJan. 11, 19834,501,495Faulkner et alFeb. 26, 19854,807,984Kurimura et alFeb. 28, 19894,818,169Schram et alApr. 4, 19895,367,401SaulietisNov. 22, 19945,386,318Kuhnert et alJan. 31, 1995
The above mentioned prior art devices have several disadvantages. For example some of these prior art devices can only withdraw a microscope slide from a holder, but cannot return the slide back into the holder. Other prior art devices are permanently attached to one microscope, and cannot be used with several different microscopes of different size or shape construction. This thereby limits the usefulness of the prior art device.
The disclosure of each of these patent documents is herewith incorporated by reference.
A slide is a microscope slide being a standard 1 inch×3 glass slide or other similar specimen.